Scania Interim Report - January - September 2002

Thu, Oct 31, 2002 12:31 CET

SCANIA INTERIM REPORT - JANUARY - SEPTEMBER 2002
"In Europe, demand has developed somewhat better than expected, while
uncertainty has increased with regard to the outlook for 2003. In Latin
America, demand is weak and the effects of a new administration after
the presidential election in Brazil are impossible to foresee. Scania's
service-related business has developed well, and together with action
programmes in the form of a stricter price policy and more efficient
production, the trend of earnings is expected to remain good for the
rest of the year," says Leif Östling, President and CEO.
First three quarters in brief Change
First nine months in %
Units USD m.* 2002 2001
Trucks and buses
- Order bookings 35,166 35,884 -2
- Deliveries 30,261 35,165 -14
Sales and earnings
SEK m. unless otherwise stated
Sales, Scania products1 3,550 32,953 33,579 -2
Operating income, Scania products 261 2,425 1,924 26
Operating income, Scania Group 322 2,987 2,004 49
Income after financial items 265 2,462 1,524 62
Net income 197 1,831 1,037 77
Operating margin, 7.4 5.7
Scania products, percent
Return on equity, percent 2) 11.7 14.8
Return on capital employed, excluding 12.5 14.4
Customer Finance operations, percent 2)
Earnings per share, SEK USD 9.16 5.19
0.99
Earnings per share excluding USD 6.40 5.19
capital gain, SEK 0.69
Cash flow excluding Customer Finance 230 2,137 2,376
operations and
divestments/acquisitions of companies
Cash flow excluding Customer Finance 356 3,302 1,479
operations and including
divestments/acquisitions of companies
Number of employees, 30 September 28,212 28,812
Number of shares: 200 million
1) Trucks, buses, engines and service-related products.
2) Calculations are based on rolling 12-month income.
* Translated solely for the convenience of the reader at a closing
exchange rate of SEK 9.2825 = USD 1.00.
Unless otherwise stated, all comparisons in brackets refer to the same
period of last year.
This report is also available at www.scania.com
SCANIA, FIRST THREE QUARTERS OF 2002 - COMMENTS BY THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
"The operating income of the Scania Group was largely unchanged compared
to the corresponding period of 2001, when the effects of new accounting
principles and the capital gain from the divestment of Svenska
Volkswagen AB and Din Bil AB have been excluded. The operating margin
for Scania products amounted to 7.4 percent during the first nine months
of 2002 and 7.0 percent during the third quarter," notes Leif Östling,
President and CEO of Scania.
"Operating income was mainly affected by the fact that about 5,000 fewer
trucks and buses were delivered. Sales of service-related products -
parts and workshop services - rose by 6 percent. Customer Financing
continued to show good performance.
"In Europe, demand is divided. Order bookings increased in Great
Britain, Italy and Spain while they declined in Germany. During the
first nine months, order bookings in Europe were somewhat higher than
during the corresponding period of 2001.
"The number of trucks delivered in western Europe was 11 percent lower
than during the first nine months of 2001, and Scania's market share was
13.5 percent. Demand for heavy trucks in western Europe now seems to
have stabilised at a rolling annual rate of around 190,000 units.
"In central and eastern Europe, the positive trend continued. Future EU
membership for a number of countries should contribute to continued
favourable economic growth, and an increasing demand for transport
equipment. Scania's performance in the region was favourable, especially
in Russia.
"Many newer used Scania trucks from western Europe are sold in central
and eastern Europe. Scania's share of this used truck market is higher
than the 15 percent share we have in the region for new trucks. The flow
of newer used trucks has kept up the sales volume of new trucks in
western Europe.
"In the Middle East, demand remained good despite the unrest in the
region. In the Far East, the positive volume trend continued, especially
in South Korea.
"In European operations, order bookings for trucks rose by 8 percent,
and to shorten delivery times, we increased the pace in our production
workshops, while deliveries of components and vehicles from Latin
America greatly increased.
"In Latin America, demand remained weak. The Argentine market was nearly
non-existent. In Brazil, activity was low while waiting for the
political strategy to become clear after the presidential election.
During the third quarter, the currency weakened further by more than 25
percent, and the real now stands at about 4 per US dollar. Scania's
programme for increasing prices in Brazil to world market level remains
in place, even though this has meant a significant decline in market
share. Deliveries of components and complete vehicles to markets outside
Latin America increased and had a positive effect on earnings in Latin
America.
"In bus and coach operations, markets performed well in Europe, while
order bookings in Latin America declined by around 30 percent. The
restructuring of Scania's European bus production is progressing largely
as planned.
"Scania is currently displaying its trucks for the first time at the
Tokyo Motor Show, the leading commercial vehicle exhibition in Asia.
Together with our local sales partner Hino, we are displaying products
intended for launching in the Japanese market. The task of defining
other potential areas of co-operation between Hino and Scania continued.
"In Europe, demand has developed somewhat better than expected, while
uncertainty has increased with regard to the outlook for 2003. In Latin
America, demand is weak and the effects of a new administration after
the presidential election in Brazil are impossible to foresee. Scania's
service-related business has developed well, and together with action
programmes in the form of a stricter price policy and more efficient
production, the trend of earnings is expected to remain good for the
rest of the year," Mr Östling concludes.
------------------------------------------------------------
This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net
The following files are available for download:
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/10/31/20021031BIT00240/wkr0001.doc The Full Report
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/10/31/20021031BIT00240/wkr0002.pdf The Full Report

About Us

Scania is a world-leading provider of transport solutions. Together with our partners and customers we are driving the shift towards a sustainable transport system. In 2018, we delivered 88,000 trucks, 8,500 buses as well as 12,800 industrial and marine engines to our customers. Net sales totalled to over SEK 137 billion, of which about 20 percent were services-related. Founded in 1891, Scania now operates in more than 100 countries and employs some 52,000 people. Research and development are concentrated in Sweden, with branches in Brazil and India. Production takes place in Europe, Latin America and Asia, with regional production centres in Africa, Asia and Eurasia. Scania is part of TRATON SE. For more information visit: www.scania.com.